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A Semiotic Approach to the Sentence Forms Chosen by British, Danish and Russian Speakers in Native and ELF Contexts

Ibsen, Olga Rykov(Frederiksberg, 2016)

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According to Durst-Andersen’s theory of communicative supertypes all languages can roughly be
described as belonging to one of the following supertypes: (1) reality-oriented languages such as Russian
and Hindi that speak of reality through the situation being common to the speaker and the hearer;
(2) speaker-oriented languages such as Spanish and Japanese that speak of reality through the speaker’s
experience of the situation; and finally (3) hearer-oriented languages such as Danish and English that
speak of reality through the hearer’s experience of it.
Using the above-mentioned approach, this dissertation investigates the following hypotheses: (I)
native speakers of British English prefer indirect requesting strategies; (II) Danes and Russians favour
direct requesting strategies in their mother tongue; (III) Danes and Russians transfer direct requesting
strategies from their mother tongue to English; (IV) British, Danish, and Russian speakers prefer interrogative
sentence structures with the situations where the speaker and hearer do not ‘share the same
world’.
Cross-cultural data consisting of the Trolley (Permission), the Window (Prohibition), and the
Library (Impossibility) situations has been collected through role play from Danish, Russian, and
English speakers (control group) at Carlsberg, and consists of both English Lingua Franca Data and
Mother Tongue Data.
The analysis of these three situations partially provided support for hypothesis I with the native
speakers of English and II with the Russians though not with the Danes. By construing requests in
terms of a ‘problem-solving’ activity, I found that almost half of the British English speakers ‘solved the
problem’ straightaway by using the imperative sentence structure in the Trolley situation, e.g. Put your
luggage on the trolley! Yet, among the three groups, the British English speakers were the only group
who employed interrogatives most often. Both the Russian and Danish speakers preferred to solve the
problem by offering their ‘best bid for a solution of a problem’ in the form of the declarative sentence
structure in English, like.g. You can put your luggage on the trolley, whereas they preferred other ways
of solving the problem in their native languages: the Russian mother tongue speakers overwhelmingly
solved the problem on the spot with the help of the imperative form as in Stav’te svoi vešči na moju
teležku! for ‘Put (IPFV) your belongings on my trolley!’, and the Danish mother tongue speakers mostly
chose to solve the problem by ‘stating’ it, which is done with the hlp of the interrogative sentence
structure, like Skal jeg ikke lige smide den med på min vogn ? for ‘Don’t you want me to throw it on my
trolley?’. Hypothesis III was also partially confirmed with the Russians, who appeared to transfer the imperative
sentence structure from Russian to Russian English in the Trolley and the Library situations.
In addition, due to the original view on directives as trichotomous entities, it was possible to discover
covert influence of Russian aspect and transfer of the imperative mood in Russian to Russian English.
The analysis did not reveal any direct transfers of syntactic structures from Danish to Danish English.
Finally, hypothesis IV was completely confirmed since the British, Danish, and Russian respondents
largely preferred the interrogative sentence form with the Library situation.
Even though the present study has analysed only a small sample, the findings for direct and subtle
transfers from a mother tongue to English as a Lingua Franca can prove instrumental in improving
global communication, say, in the form of developing teaching material for cross-cultural business
organisations that use English as medium of communication.

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This thesis focuses on individuals’ educational achievements and labor market outcomes in a Danish
context. Particularly, the thesis aims at determining the returns to specific tertiary educational
decisions and understanding the mechanisms underlying such decisions. These related objectives are
addressed using econometric methods applied on Danish micro data. All four chapters are empirical
studies and combine data from different sources. The main source of data is an administrative data
set obtained from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) that contains detailed educational information
on students enrolled at CBS. I combine this data with register data obtained from Statistics Denmark.
The educational data is the core of Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 and defines the sample in
these chapters. Chapter 1 relies exclusively on data from Statistics Denmark.
Chapter 1 (a joint work with Anders Sørensen from Copenhagen Business School) estimates the
wage premium of those with a master’s degree in business economics and management when compared
to the wages of those with master’s degrees in other fields in the social sciences. By means of an
Instrumental Variable (IV) approach, we identify the returns to a business education by addressing
the endogenous selection of master’s programs. Using season of birth as an exogenous determinant of
master’s degree choice, we find that a master’s degree in business economics and management results
in a wage premium of around 12% compared to other master’s degrees in the social sciences. Moreover,
we find that the probability of private sector employment is significantly larger for individuals with a
master’s degree in business economics and management. Finally, in contrast to the literature that finds
significant reductions in the gender wage gap when controlling for educational fields, controlling for a
master’s degree in business economics and management does not affect the large and robust gender
wage gap prevalent in our sample.

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The thesis consists of an introduction followed by three numbered chapters (independent
papers). It covers topics in international trade, and in di¤erent ways the thesis investigates
aspects of heterogeneity. The rst chapter is coauthored with Pascalis Raimondos-Møller. The
version of this chapter is published in the CESifo Working Paper Series and serves as the
nal background paper for the compressed journal article published in Review of Development
Economics, May 2012. The second chapter is coauthored with Madhura Maitra, senior PhD
student at Columbia University at the time. The third chapter is a solo paper.
In the rst chapter we introduce a traditional macro model of trade and change the com-
petitive environment by introducing state-owned enterprises. We also include heterogenous
households to analyze e¤ects on the income distribution. The chapter focuses on Vietnam s
accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007. Upon entry, Vietnam was granted
an accession period lasting till 2014. During this period tari¤s would have to fall according
to the accession agreement. This rst chapter evaluates this 2007-2014 trade liberalization by
building an applied general equilibrium model and calibrating it to the Vietnamese data. The
model pays careful attention to the fact that Vietnam has many state-owned enterprises that
do not behave in a pro t maximizing way. The model simulations show that the WTO imposed
tari¤ reforms will reduce the overall welfare level of the Vietnamese households. Moreover, the
biggest loss of income will take place among the poor rural households in Vietnam. We propose
other tari¤ reforms that both raise overall welfare and reduce income inequality.

Research on companies’ internationalization has mainly focused on firm-level and country-level factors in order to explain firms’ cross-border activities. With the exception of a limited number of studies emphasizing rivalistic behavior in oligopolistic industries, industry factors have been neglected as potential determinants of companies’ internationalization. We argue that differences across industries with regard to competition level, research intensity, tangibility of the products, and the existence of clusters should influence the impetus and opportunities to internationalize. This study examines the role of such factors using data covering the internationalization patterns of the 100 largest non-financial Norwegian companies over the period 1990 to 2000. We find that industry factors contribute significantly to explaining the internationalization of these companies, and that the effects of industry factors remain strong when firm-level characteristics are taken into account.
Key words: Internationalization, multinational companies, industry factors, Norway
JEL classification: F21, F23, L10

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In this paper the empirical performance of ve di erent models for barrier op-
tion valuation is investigated: the Black-Scholes model, the constant elasticity of
variance model, the Heston stochastic volatility model, the Merton jump-di usion
model, and the in nite activity Variance Gamma model. We use time-series data
from the USD/EUR exchange rate market: standard put and call (plain vanilla)
option prices and a unique set of observed market values of barrier options. The
models are calibrated to plain vanilla option prices, and prediction errors at dif-
ferent horizons for plain vanilla and barrier option values are investigated. For
plain vanilla options, the Heston and Merton models have similar and superior
performance for prediction horizons up to one week. For barrier options, the
continuous-path models (Black-Scholes, constant elasticity of variance, and Hes-
ton) do almost equally well, while both models with jumps (Merton and Variance
Gamma) perform markedly worse.

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Rational expectations models make stringent assumptions on the agent's
knowledge about the true model. This paper introduces a model in which the
rational agent realizes that using a given model involves approximation errors,
and adjusts behavior accordingly. If the researcher accounts for this empirical
rationality on part of the agent, the resulting empirical model assigns
likelihood to the data actually observed, unlike in the unmodified rational expectations
case. A Lucas (1978)-type asset pricing model which incorporates
empirical rationality is constructed and estimated using U.S. stock data. The
equilibrium asset pricing function is seriously affected by the existence of approximation
errors and the descriptive properties and normative implications
of the model are significantly improved. This suggests that investors do not
| and should not | ignore approximation errors.
Keywords: Approximation errors, model uncertainty, estimation of structural
models, rational expectations, asset pricing.

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Usability evaluation methods are widely used to assess and improve the user interface design.
This dissertation investigates the thinking aloud usability testing from a cultural perspective. In
a test situation, representative users are required to verbalize their thoughts as they perform their
tasks while using the system, and an evaluator observes the user’s task performance and comes
up with usability problems. The primary goal of a usability test is to find a list of usability
problems.
In this research, the impacts of evaluators’ and users’ cultural backgrounds on both the result
and the process of the thinking aloud usability testing were investigated. Regarding the results of
the usability testing, the identified usability problem was the main focus, whereas for the process
of testing, the communication between users and evaluators was the main focus.
In this dissertation, culture was regarded as cognitive styles and communication orientations.
For the theories of thinking aloud, both Ericsson and Simon’s classic model, and Boren and
Ramey’s revised model for usability testing were taken into account. Based on the culture
theories and thinking aloud models, hypotheses were developed to investigate the evaluators’
identified usability problems in different cultural settings, and themes were put forward to
investigate the evaluators’ and users’ communications.
In order to investigate the hypotheses and themes, an experimental study was conducted. The
experimental design consisted of four independent groups with evaluators and users from similar
or different cultures (Danish and Chinese). Empirical data were collected by using background
questionnaires, usability problem forms, usability problem lists, video recordings of the testing
and interviews. The usability testing software “Morae” was used to record the whole testing,
including the faces of the evaluators and users, the screen and keyboard activities. Evaluators’
and users’ communications were analyzed by the behavioural coding and analysis software
“Observer XT 8.0” with a well defined coding system.
The results of the systematic study of the thinking aloud usability testing in the context of the
intra- and inter-cultural usability engineering show that the evaluators’ cultural backgrounds do
have some influences on the usability testing; however, the influences are different for the tests
with Western and East Asian users. The main findings of this research have implications for both
usability research and practice. The methodological approach also gives inspiration for usability
evaluation studies

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This paper gives an overview over some theory and empirical evidence on employee ownership and other forms of employee financial participation and answers the following questions: What is employee ownership and what is the relation to other forms of financial participation? Why is employee ownership widespread in some developed market economies like US and in Italy, France and Spain, while it has a quite rare occurrence in the Scandinavian countries? What are the conditions favouring and what are the barriers for employee ownership? What are the advantages and drawbacks for employee owned companies? The paper also gives a summary of the experience in the Baltics – with reference to the following three country articles – and gives finally some perspectives for the future.

Recent advances within the dynamic capabilities view emphasize the “sensing” of
employees as an important part of the micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities: By
putting in place organizational processes that mobilize and exploit information gathered
by individual employees from their operating environment, firms can update insights
about performance outcomes and improve strategic decision-making. We test empirically
the extent to which firms can ascertain performance outcomes by drawing on employee
knowledge. Our empirical setting is the Scandinavian hospitality sector with respondents
among frontline service employees. Using a time series approach, we show that
employee respondents (collectively) assess medium-term organizational performance
better than management and the financial models available to them.

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This dissertation creates a model that combines
the literature on employee stock ownership (ESO),
middle management involvement in strategy and
the participative leader
ship style with the
motivational literature on psychological owners
hip. The model is based
on the recognition that
despite a strong theoretical foundation of the firs
t three concepts supporting a positive relationship
with performance, the empirical
evidence is inconclusive. Additiona
lly, the literature on the three
concepts finds that the performance effect of the
concepts seems to be me
diated by the creation of
internalised extrinsic motiva
tion in the form of psychologi
cal empowerment, organisational
citizenship behaviour or psyc
hological ownership. Based on th
e literature on psychological
ownership, ESO, middle management
involvement and a participative
leadership style are argued to
be determinants of psychological ownership. The m
odel thereby argues that the three concepts must
be seen as determinants of psychological owners
hip and that their pote
ntial positive effect on
performance is triggered by their potential motivationa
l effect. The three concepts can also be seen
as interrelated and the model argues that a combin
ation of the three would
enhance the performance
effect.

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"Leaping into the future of labor economics: the research potential of linking employer and
employee data" is the title of a paper by Daniel S Hammermesh published in Labour Economics
in 1999. I quote it here, since it captures much of my motivation for the work included in this
thesis. Considering applied micro econometrics and labor economics my main elds of interest,
the development of linked employer-employee data that took place in Denmark around the time
of the new millennium, marked new and exciting possibilities.
For some years Danish researchers have had access to very detailed information on all people
living in Denmark, but at the beginning of this century also data on all companies linked to these
persons was being made available for research. Combined with modern computer technology
this meant access to a linked database following all employers and all employees in Denmark
over time.
I had no doubt that this should be the centerpiece of my Ph.D. The result has been two
lines of research, one studying the e¤ect of globalization on labor demand in Denmark, and one
studying sorting, that is, how and why employers meet employees in the labor market. In the
summary I treat each line of research independently although I would like to emphasize, that
studying a labor market where fi rms and workers reacts to one another is the corner stone in
both.

Previous research tends to overemphasize frictions, cultural clashes and communication breakdowns in virtual teams. The author aims at exploring positive aspects of cross-cultural collaboration and identifying some of the conditions underlying trust-building, employee motivation and team effectiveness.
Whereas much research on virtual teams has taken its point of departure in Western MNCs and primarily addressed headquarter concerns, this case study of a Danish MNC´s Indian R & D site gives voice to Indian managers and employees and explores through semi-structured interviews and observations how they perceive communication and collaboration within multinational and multicultural R & D teams, and how they try to find common ground.
Based on the interviews accounts, there are several enablers of virtual team collaboration: advanced information and communication technology facilitated virtual communication, and high English-language proficiency among the engineers at different R & D sites made dialogue and knowledge exchange feasible. Moreover, team members shared a strong professional identity as engineers and technicians, and they displayed a strong identification with the MNC, a world leader in the wind power industry.
Perceived national differences in leadership and communication style played a minor role, maybe because the majority of Indian managers and employees had previous experience working in other Western MNCs. Some of the Indian managers and employees were even able to act as boundary-spanners between headquarters and the Indian R&D site due to their study and work experiences in other business environments.
Culture courses that introduced the Danish and Indian team members to a North European communication and management style, and to an Indian respectively, were introduced on the initiative of the Danish managing director, who - in contrast to the HR department - recognized the importance of facilitating the virtual teamwork through cultural awareness training. Suggestions for further cultural learning processes are given.

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An empirical investigation of business model innovation in supplier relation-ship management

Nøkkentved, Chris(Frederiksberg, 2009)

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In broad terms we want to identify the initiatives that drive business model transformation and
study their effect on performance. We also presume that such initiatives are primarily
influencing the context-specific skills and priorities of the organization. Transformation
initiatives leading to organizational and technological change are presumably constrained by
resident capabilities (Hartmann et al.,2002, Håkansson & Waluszewski, 2002), the focus and
state of the current operations (Subramanian & Shaw, 2002), hence they indirectly influence
performance26. There are potentially additional environmental contingencies affecting those
same domain-specific factors, of which we will investigate industry membership, region, and
company size (Ford et al. 1997). Finally, we will explore whether different actors or leaders incharge
of such technology-oriented and organizational transformations have differences of
opinion on the priorities of the firm (Håkansson & Waluszewski, 2002).